As it turned out, she was right, according to the first responders who helped deliver a baby girl in the back of an ambulance this morning on the way to Newton-Wellesley Hospital, Wicked Local reported Wednesday.

"I don't want to say it was routine," Wellesley paramedic Kevin LaBarge said. "She did all the work ... She carried the thing for nine months."

Traffic was heavy on Washington Street when the baby came out at 9:04 a.m., Labarge said, and he thought the mother and father - if left on their own - might have made it as far as the tennis courts by Hunnewell Field before their new daughter would have joined them in the car.

Firefighter Chris Larsen drove the ambulance with the baby's father sitting beside him on the way to the hospital. He said the girl was born healthy as LaBarge and Lt. Matt Corda calmly worked to deliver her to her mom.

The mobile delivery was a first for Corda, who said Wednesday afternoon that it was a welcome change of pace from some of the other medical calls the department gets.

"It was kind of one of those uplifting things," he said. "She was pink and healthy and crying, and that's what we like."

LaBarge has delivered one other baby in his 20 years working as an emergency medical technician in Wellesley, but all three first responders said it was a calm ride with one exception: The baby's father, whom Larsen said seemed a bit nervous throughout the ride.

All three paramedics said that they immediately fell back on their training, which helped ensure a safe delivery even if the circumstances weren't ideal.

"It was a very cool feeling, very surreal though," Larsen said. "There were a lot of 'woahs' going through my head."

Firefighter Mike Leach, the president of the local union, said that their organization sent flowers to the family and that everyone was happy and healthy at Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

The family told Leach they hoped to reach out to thank the first responders in the coming days.

The baby's name has not yet been made public, but LaBarge said he did offer some insight to the girl's mother before turning her over to hospital staffers."I told her Kevin's a good name," he said, "but she didn't seem to agree."